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Marcello Mastroianni

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[A white fortune cookie paper with blue text. Front: The best times of your life have not yet been lived. Lucky Numbers 41, 36, 22, 51, 39, 34 Back: August, Chinese text 八 (bā) 月 (yuè)]

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Princess Jeanne Bonaparte

Jeanne Bonaparte was the second child and daughter of Prince Pierre Bonaparte, son of Lucien Bonaparte (Napoléon I’s brother), and Justine Éléonore “Nina” Ruffin, the daughter of a copper foundry worker. Napoléon III strongly disapproved of their marriage, and the couple was never welcomed at the French imperial court.

Their union was blessed only by a local priest in Corsica in 1853, without the required civil ceremony. Pierre later claimed that no wedding had taken place—perhaps out of fear of the Emperor’s reaction. When they finally held a civil ceremony in 1867, Napoléon III still refused to recognize it—ironically mirroring Napoléon I’s disapproval of Pierre’s father Lucien’s marriage.

Pierre Bonaparte & Justine Éléonore

Justine and Pierre lived in Corsica before returning to the mainland for Jeanne’s birth in 1861. Several other children were born to them, but none survived to adulthood. After the fall of the Second Empire, they married once more in 1871 at the French Consulate in Brussels, finally making their union legally valid. This allowed their surviving children to officially use the Bonaparte name.

Jeanne Bonaparte photographed by Disderi in 1866.

After her fathers Pierre death in 1881, Justine moved to London and opened a millinery shop, using her title to attract customers. Jeanne and her brother Roland received an excellent education. While in London, a former French officer—whose father had served under Napoléon I—took an interest in the family and arranged for Roland to return to France for military schooling. Jeanne pursued painting and engraving, and during her art studies, she befriended Marie-Félix Blanc, a wealthy Monegasque heiress. Jeanne later introduced Marie to Roland, and the two married. This marriage significantly improved the family’s finances, with Marie and her brother each gifting Jeanne a million francs.

Jeanne Bonaparte & Christian de Villeneuve-Esclapon

Jeanne received fifty-one marriage proposals over the years, but her family urged her to marry for love. On 21 March 1882, she wed Christian de Villeneuve-Esclapon, deputy of Corsica. The couple went on to have six children: Pierre , Jeanne , Romée , Lucien ,Roselyne and Anne

Top image From left to right: Lucien, Jeanne, Anne, Reomée, Roselyne, and Pierre.

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In Parisian society, Jeanne became well known as both a painter and a sculptor. Her artistic talent earned her recognition among France’s cultural elite. She continued to live a vibrant life until her death in Paris on 25 July 1910, at the age of 48

some extra pictures of her children:

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Sommarnattens leende (1955)

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I WOULD HAVE DONE TONS OF SNUFF WITH YOU, AND KEPT YOU ALIVE FOREVER

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this august do whatever you want and stay up late

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Anaïs Nin in a diary entry dated 14 July 1920, from The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin: 1920-1923

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Hard to get out of bed sometimes

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Snoopy of the Day

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“August evenings are especially stricken with melancholy - as if the ghosts of all past summers came rushing to haunt my heart”

from Letters of Summer Past (Listy Tamtego Lata) VI

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“It is August: the true ending of a year. I’ve grown sick from trying to love who I am.”

— Carlie Hoffman, from “High Bridge Park,” published in Gulf Stream